In California we get fix or repair tickets for taillights etc. All you do is get it fixed and take the ticket to any CHP office and they sign off on it. No fines, no courts and definitely no jail. I had an expired registration ticket a few years ago. I got a court date written on the ticket in another 3 months and all that was necessary was to get it registered and no fine etc. No jail, no impounding of the car although the cop COULD have, I was nice to him and drove away.
I have a had a couple issues with a Barney Fife probie when I was stopped for having a trailer hitch ball mounted on a stock bumper of a Ford ranger that was inspected and registered by the California DMV when I came to California. I printed out the Cal Vehicle code part he cited and took that with me to court. The magistrate had never seen that section cited and certainly never for a legal factory approved trailer hitch.
The "cop" had been on solo duty 3 days and was trying to make points. All he got a was a reprimand from the magistrate in open court and a lot of chuckles as I mentioned Barney Fife loud enough to be heard as I left the courtroom.
BTW just for the record, checkpoints are for one purpose -revenue. Technically, they come under the "illegal search and seizure" and "probable cause" statutes.There are numerous current lawsuits pending on these.
